Fr. Damien, born 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium. He joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts volunteering for the mission to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1873 he went to work as a priest in a leper colony on the island of Molokai. He died from leprosy in 1889 aged 49. The testimony of the life he lived among the lepers of Molokai led to an intensive study of Hansens disease, eventually leading to a cure. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in 1995. He was named a saint on Oct 11th 2009.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Catholic Parish Gets New Priest

(Bishop Larry Silva and Father William Petrie (right) at his installation at St. Damien Church. Photo by Catherine Cluett)As a high school student in Arizona at the age of 16, Father William Petrie read a biography of St. Damien in school. That’s what started the priest’s journey in the Catholic faith, which has culminated in his installation as pastor of Molokai’s St. Damien Parish last Tuesday. “That book inspired me so much that I decided I was going to become a priest and work with leprosy patients,” he said. “And it all came true.”

He entered seminary and joined the order of the Sacred Hearts, of which St. Damien was a member. Sixteen years after he felt called by the saint from Molokai, he went to India to work with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose mission was to serve those with leprosy, where he lived for 25 years. Now, at the age of 70, Petrie said he has found the place he plans to stay “until God calls me home.” He lives in a little house next to the picturesque St. Joseph’s Church in east Molokai that Damien himself built. “It feels like coming home to heaven,” he said joyfully. “I’m constantly thanking God for the gift of being here [on Molokai].” Petrie is replacing Father Clyde Guerreiro, who was assigned to serve at a parish in Wahiawa, Oahu.

Dedication to the Afflicted
Petrie’s mission in India began with a letter to Mother Teresa, introducing himself and letting her know he wanted to be involved in serving those with leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. He never heard back. He raised $1000 for a ticket to India, which at the time cost $800, he said. He again wrote to Mother Teresa, restating his hope to work with her, and including the remaining $200 as a donation to her mission. Again, he never received a response. Petrie wrote a third and final letter to Mother Teresa, this time giving his flight information for his planned trip to India.

He still hadn’t heard back by the time he boarded a flight and landed in a busy Indian airport. There was no one there to pick him up. He wound his way through throngs of people in the street, looked up the contact for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, and called the number. A woman answered and Petrie asked for Mother Teresa. The woman said that was she. He again introduced himself and expressed his desire to work with her. “She was delighted… we struck up a friendship that lasted until she died,” said Petrie, adding she had never received his letters.

During his years working with her, he not only became an important member of Mother’s Teresa’s well-known mission, but also followed in Damien’s footsteps of service to those with leprosy. He started the Damien Institute in India, which included a medical clinic, education for youth, rehabilitation and employment services. He also established a Sacred Hearts congregation in India to join the worldwide community and continue the work of the Institute.

Fulfillment on Molokai

(Mass at St. Damien Church. Photo by Catherine Cluett)

Despite the fulfillment of his past missions, Father Petrie said he feels as though those assignments have all led up to fulfilling the call on Molokai. At his installation at St. Damien Church in Kaunakakai last week, Father Petrie promised that during his first six months, he would visit every single home and family of the parish to listen, meet and bless each house. Listening, he said, is one of many lessons he learned from Mother Teresa.

One goal Father Petrie has for the parish is to foster pilgrims to the island to not only honor St. Damien and the soon-to-be-canonized Mother Marianne, but also to support local economy. Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva, who presided over Petrie’s installation, called the priest’s vision for welcoming pilgrims “much-needed.” Father Petrie’s passion for sharing St. Damien’s legacy is welcomed by Molokai parishioners.

“He breathes Damien, which I believe is good for our souls here,” said Leoda Shizuma upon learning of Father Petrie’s assignment earlier this year. Shizuma and other parishioners got to know Father Petrie when he visited Molokai for six months during his sabbatical in 2000.

Petrie’s permanent move to Molokai was made possible by a merger of the Sacred Hearts East Coast and Hawaii chapters last year. He is one of the first priests to make the transfer to Hawaii, along with Kalaupapa’s new pastor, Father Patrick Killilea. Father Killilea was installed at the peninsula’s St. Francis Church on July 11.

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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Mozlink’ for any or all of the articles/images placed here. The placing of an article does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

School Resources

Statistics of Patients on Molokai 1866-1908

Size of Molokai: 260 Square MilesSize of Kalawao: 800 acres

Number of Patients on Molokai:1866 -1151880 -1,0001908 - 791 (693 were Hawaiians, 42 Chinese, 26 Portuguese, 6 Americans, 5 Japanese, 6 Germans, and 13 of other ethnicities)Total deportees to Molokai: approximately 8,000The first case of leprosy (a.k.a. Hansen's disease) was documented in Hawaii in 1835.The first group of patients departed from Honolulu Harbor in 1866 on the schooner, the Warwick.

Fr. Damien - SSCC Missionary (Damien's Writings)

In 1990, Fr. Patrick Bradley ss.cc., the then Superior General of Damien's Congregation, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, wrote a circular letter to all the members of the Congregation entitled: "Fr. Damien - SS.CC. Missionary" with some perspectives on the future of mission. Fr. Bradley's circular gathers together many of Damien's writings, which provide valuable insights into Damien's own life, motivation and work as a missionary. Over the course of the coming weeks, I hope to reproduce this publication which you can read by clicking on the link below.

Followers

Important Dates - Blessed Damien

Pictures & Images of Damien

Did You Know?Father Damien's life and death among his people at Kalaupapa focused the attention of the world on the problem of leprosy and the plight of its victims. After Damien's death in 1889, the people of England established a fund and a commission for the scientific investigation of the disease.Mother Marianne Cope nursed those suffering from leprosy in Hawai'i for 35 years. She arrived at Kalaupapa in 1888. Her philosophy of personal dignity in the face of death came almost a century before its adoption as the foundation of the hospice movement.Sea cliffs rise two thousand feet above the peninsula and ocean separate Kalaupapa from the rest of the island of Moloka'i. In 1972 this area was designated as the North Shore Cliffs National Natural Landmark, recognized as a significant example of sea cliffs in the nation's natural heritage.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi claimed Damien to have been an inspiration for his social campaigns in India that led to the freedom of his people and secured aid for those that needed it. Gandhi was quoted in M.S. Mehendale’s 1971 account called Gandhi Looks at Leprosy as saying, "The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Moloka'i. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism."

Religious News Network - Dublin - Podcast

Pope Benedict has announced that Blessed Damien – the Leper Priest – will be declared Saint within the next year. This follows the cure of a woman, in Hawaii, of cancer through the intercession with Bl. Damien. Eileen Good of RNN spoke to Fr. Eamon Aylward of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary and asked him about Fr. Damien and his life caring for lepers in Hawaii.

Blessed Damien of Molokai

Message to SSCC Members & Friends

Brothers, Sisters, Lay Associates and friends of Blessed Damien, please forward any images, photos, articles etc. to me for inclusion in this website. Let's build up a good resource leading up to Damien's canonisation.

BlogCatalog

Bl. Damien de Veuster

The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was bomn Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life. In 1864, he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained. For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokai, after volunteering for the assignment. Damien cared for lepers of all ages, but was particularly concerned about the children segregated in the colony. He announced he was a leper in 1885 and continued to build hospitals, clinics, and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15, 1889 on Molokai. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Mr. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. He was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified on June 4, 1995.

Kalaupapa resident Kuulei Bell presented a lei and a kiss to Pope John Paul II during a Mass for the beatification of Father Damien in Brussels in 1995.

Logo - Damien Center Louvain

For more information about Damien's Order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, please contact: ssccdublin@eircom.net

4. Stevenson, Robert Louis. In the South Seas. New York: Scribners, 1911.

Edward Clifford. Father Damien: A Journey from Cashmere to His Home in Hawaii. London and New York: Macmillan. 1889. 352pp.Piers Compton. Father Damien. London: Alexander Ouseley. 1933. 196pp.Gavan Daws. Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai. New York: Harper & Row. 1973. 293pp.Charles J. Dutton. The Samaritans of Molokai: The Lives of Father Damien and Brother Dutton Among the Lepers. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1932. 286pp.Omer Englebert. The Hero of Molokai: Father Damien, Apostle of the Lepers. St. Paul Editions. 1962. 364pp. Translation of Le pére Damien.Hilde Eynikel. Molokai: The Story of Father Damien. Hodder & Stoughton. 2001. 324pp.John Farrow. Damien: The Leper. Sheed & Ward. 1937. 230pp.Vital Jourdan. The Heart of Father Damien, 1840-1889. Guild Press. 1960. 500pp. Translation of Le père Damien de Veuster, apôtre des lépreux.Ann Roos. Man of Molokai: The Life of Father Damien. J. B. Lippincott. 1943. 254pp.Philibert Tauvel. Father Damien: Apostle of the Lepers of Molokai, Priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. Art and Book Co.. 1904. 206pp.

Kalawao Catholic Church

Damien Statue - Hawaiian State Capitol

Damien Icon

About Me

I am involved in the selling of stamps, related materials & some gifts in order to raise money for the missions. The stamps were a gift from a life long stamp collector who donated his collection to raise money for the missions. He told us that God had blessed him in his life and he wanted to give something back.
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